Let It Be director Michael Lindsay-Hogg happy about documentary's reappraisal: "It didn't get a fair shake"

9 May 2024, 17:10

It became an intrinsic part of The Beatles' lore.

For better or worse that is, given that the band themselves weren't keen on how they were portrayed in the 1970 documentary Let It Be.

Not just The Beatles themselves, but the picture it painted was solemn for their many fans too, focusing on the band's ruptures and rows rather than the positive flourishes of the Fab Four's final album.

It also very much created the legacy of Yoko Ono's involvement in the band breaking up, given she was omnipresent throughout.

Though as Peter Jackson's 2021 documentary Get Back detailed - which used re-enhanced footage from director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's Let It Be - that wasn't necessarily the case.

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Of course, there were fallouts and squabbles, but Get Back showed The Beatles still had love and admiration for one another.

They just clearly wanted to pursue other creative ventures, understandably, which nowadays we're more sympathetic towards.

Now Jackson's documentary showcased a different perspective on the creation of Let It Be, the documentary of the same name has been offered a reappraisal after its recent restoration for Disney+.

Lindsay-Hogg for one is happy about its re-release, telling People magazine that "it didn't get a fair shake" the first time around.

Let It Be Official Trailer

Talking to journalist Jordan Runtagh ahead of Let It Be's re-release date, Lindsay-Hogg feels like his documentary has been vindicated in the years since.

Though he did admit, the reaction to Let It Be was severely impacted by The Beatles' effectively breaking up a month before its release, when Paul McCartney revealed he was leaving the group to pursue a solo career.

"It didn't get a fair shake because the Beatles weren't interested in it because they'd broken up," Lindsay-Hogg told People.

"It just seemed like they didn't care anymore. That’s what happened in 1970. I think it was shown on the BBC a couple times in the early 1970s."

"Then there's the VHS, which they released. Then there was some issue to do with the music rights, so they had to pull [the release] because they hadn't sorted this out."

"And then, when anyone in the company said, 'Well, let's put out the VHS of Let It Be again,' there was [groans]. It was a Beatles movie and there wasn't any Beatles anymore," he continued.

The Beatles themselves refused to promote Let It Be after its initial release, as none of them turned up to the premiere.

It wasn't only their poor relationships at that point which contributed to their snub, as they all watched it privately.

Their individual reactions were indeed a major indication that they were happy to see Let It Be consigned to the vaults of history.

John Lennon - having just completed a course of primal scream therapy - reportedly cried after seeing it, George Harrison called it a "fiasco" and "painful', and Ringo Starr again recently recalled that the documentary has "no joy".

Lindsay-Hogg was defiant in his opinion of Let It Be, especially the historic 'rooftop concert' which was The Beatles' first live performance together in three years at the time.

"When I saw [Let It Be] the other night again, it's just so sweet. The way they look at each other, the way John looks over at Paul, and Paul and John."

"You know, they went to school together. They started writing songs when they were sixteen. And George embraced his part as the lead guitar player. You look at them and you go, "That's good, isn't it?'," he continues.

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"And that's the thing which is so miraculous about the picture: I didn't do it, they did it. The connection between them is so potent at the end that it almost breaks your heart to see."

"Because then you know what happened. History took over, and you know what happened to John and George, who died so young."

So there's a poignancy to the roof, as well as, And that's what I got from it the other night [at the premiere]. Because, for me, it's been a long and winding road."